Dual guide rail system for a vehicle washing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A dual guide rail system for a vehicle washing apparatus having a predetermined path of a vehicle to be washed includes standard curb rails mounted on both sides of the path at a first height and upper curb rails mounted outside of the standard rails at a second height greater than the first height of the standard curb rails. The upper curb rails are skewed inwardly in a direction of travel of a vehicle being washed with respect to a standard curb rail. Each of the standard and curb rails is provided with a plurality of rollers along its length thereof which tend to rotate inwardly when contacted by a wheel of a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a vehicle washing apparatus and, moreparticularly, to a dual guide rail system for a vehicle washingapparatus which guides and maintains the wheels of a large vehicle suchas a bus in a predetermined path during a washing operation.

2. Description of the Related Art

It is conventional in vehicle car washing devices to employ a standardcurb rail on both sides of the path of a vehicle to be washed in orderto maintain and guide a vehicle through the predetermined path during awashing operation. In connection with a vehicle washing apparatus of thetype wherein a vehicle is driven through the washing apparatus duringthe washing operation rather than being conveyed through the apparatusby an automatic conveyor system, operators of the vehicle often tend todrive on top of a standard curb rail, thus causing damages to the railsuch as bending and the like or causing the vehicle to go out of thepredetermined path.

When washing large vehicles, particularly buses, if the driver of thelarge vehicle drives the vehicle on top of a standard curb rail, thedamage caused by the vehicle traveling on top of the rail can be serioussince the rail is often bent or otherwise deformed and must be replaced.Accordingly, there is a need for a guide rail system for a vehiclewashing apparatus which makes it difficult for drivers of large vehiclessuch as buses, to drive on the top of a standard curb rail with one ormore wheels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is object of the present invention to provide a dual guide railsystem for a vehicle washing apparatus that employs an upper curb railin addition to a standard curb rail on each side of the path of avehicle to be washed in order to make it difficult for or preclude thedriver of a vehicle such as a bus from driving on top of the standardcurb rail.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dual guiderail system for a vehicle washing apparatus having a standard curb railand an upper curb rail mounted outside of and above the standard curbrail on each side of a predetermined path of the vehicle to be washedwherein the rails are provided with rollers which rotate inwardly andwhich tend to force the tires of a vehicle into the predeterminedwashing path.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a dual guiderail system for a vehicle washing apparatus having both a standard curbrail and an upper curb rail on each side of a predetermined path of thevehicle to be washed and wherein the curb rails are both disposed at anoutward angle away from the path at the entrance to the path.

The present invention achieves the above and other objects by providinga dual guide rail system for a vehicle washing apparatus having apredetermined path of a vehicle to be washed which comprises a firststandard curb rail mounted adjacent one outer edge of the path at afirst height above a vehicle supporting surface and a second standardcurb rail mounted adjacent an opposite outer edge of the path at thefirst height above the vehicle supporting surface to define thepredetermined path therebetween. The system further includes a firstupper curb rail mounted outside of the first standard curb rail andpositioned at a second height higher than the first height of thestandard curb rail above the vehicle supporting surface and a secondupper curb rail mounted outside of the second standard curb rail andpositioned at the second height higher than the first height of thestandard curb rail above the vehicle supporting surface. Each of thestandard and upper curb rails are provided with rollers which are freelyrotatable and tend to rotate inwardly when contacted by a tire of avehicle in the path being washed. Each of the standard curb rails andthe upper curb rails are disposed at an outward angle away from the pathof the vehicle to be washed adjacent an entrance to and an exit from thepath. Moreover, the upper curb rail on each side may be slightly skewedinwardly with respect to the standard curb rail so that the upper curbrail and the standard curb on each side are in a non-parallelrelationship when viewed from above.

The system further includes first brackets for mounting the standardcurb rails at the first height and second brackets for mounting theupper curb rails at the second height with each of the bracketscomprising a base, a flange upstanding from the base and means fixed toan outer end of the flange for rotatably mounting an end of one of therollers. The flange of each bracket is angled inwardly toward the pathof the vehicle being washed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a dual guide rail system for a vehiclewashing apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of one side of an entrance section of the dualguide rail system;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the entrance section of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the entrance section of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a mounting bracket at the inner end ofthe entrance section and an exit section for connecting an angledportion with a straight portion of a standard or an upper curb rail;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a mounting bracket for connecting twostraight sections of either a standard or an upper curb rail;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a mounting bracket at the inner end ofan upper curb rail section at the entrance and at the inner end of theexit section of the dual guide rail system; and

FIG. 8 is a prospective view of a mounting bracket at the entrance andthe exit ends of the standard and upper curb rails of the dual guiderail system.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Illustrated in FIGS. 1-8 is a dual guide rail system, generallyindicated by the numeral 10, for a vehicle washing apparatus having apredetermined path 12 of a vehicle 14 to be washed and which is mountedon a vehicle supporting surface 15. The direction of travel of thevehicle 14 through the guide rail system is indicated by the arrows 16in FIG. 1.

The dual guide rail system includes a first standard curb rail 20mounted adjacent an outer edge of the path 12 of a vehicle to be washedand a second standard curb rail 22 mounted adjacent an opposite outeredge of the path 12.

The dual guide rail system further includes a first upper curb rail 24mounted outside of the first standard curb rail 20 and a second uppercurb rail 26 mounted outside of the second standard curb rail 22.Moreover, as shown in the top plan view of FIG. 1, the upper curb rail24, 26 on each side at the entrance section preferably is slightlyskewed inwardly in the direction of vehicle travel so that the uppercurb rail and the standard curb rail are in a non-parallel relationshipwhen viewed from above. This construction forces a tire of vehicle backinto the predetermined path 12 if the tire jumps the lower curb rail inan outer direction. The upper curb rail at the exit end on each side isalso skewed inwardly in the direction of travel of a vehicle in a mannersimilar to that at the entrance section.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first and second standard curb rails are mountedat a first height H1 and the first and second upper curb rails aremounted at a second height H2 which is higher than the first height H1.Suitable heights for H1 and H2 in a vehicle washing apparatus designedfor use with large vehicles such as buses, are approximately 6 and ⅝inches for H1 measured to the top of the standard curb rail andapproximately 14 inches for H2 measured to the top of the upper curbrail.

As shown in FIG. 4, each upper curb rail 24 or 26 is mounted higher andoutside of a standard curb rail 20, 22 so that the two curb rails havethe effect of forming an inwardly directed slant therebetween at anangle of approximately 45° from the horizontal surface supporting thevehicle at the entrance to the predetermined path 12. Because of theskewed position of the upper curb rails, the angle of slant increases inthe direction of travel of a vehicle.

Each of the standard curb rails 20, 22 and the upper curb rails 24, 26are provided with a plurality of rollers 28.

As shown in FIG. 1, the upper curb rails 24, 26 extend for a distance of15 to 20 feet from the entrance to the vehicle path and a distance of 15to 20 feet at the exit end of the path of the vehicle to be washed.Moreover, each upper curb rail is provided with an angled portion 25 atits entrance ends with the angle being disposed outwardly away from thepath of the vehicle. A front end of each upper curb rail at the exit endis also provided with a short angled outwardly section.

Similarly, each standard curb rail is provided with an angled portion 27at the entrance, with the angled portion being disposed at an outwardangle away from the path of the vehicle. Each angled portion 25 of eachupper curb rail is disposed outwardly at a greater angle than eachangled portion 27 of each standard curb rail.

The standard and upper curb rails are secured in place by a plurality ofbrackets secured to the vehicle mounting surface 15. The brackets forthe upper curb rails are greater in height than the brackets for thestandard curb rails.

Shown in FIG. 8 is a bracket 30 for mounting the entrance and exit endsof each of the standard and upper curb rails. FIG. 5 illustrates amounting bracket for connecting the inner ends of the angled portions 25and 27 at the entrance of each standard and upper curb rail, to astraight section of a rail.

Illustrated in FIG. 6 is a bracket 34 for mounting the ends of twostraight sections of the standard and upper curb rails. FIG. 7illustrates a mounting bracket 36 at the inner ends of the entrance andexit sections of each upper curb rail.

Each bracket 30, 32, 34, 36 has the same general constructionconfiguration with the brackets supporting the upper curb rails beinghigher than the brackets supporting the standard curb rails. Thus, asshown in FIG. 6, for example, each bracket has a base 40 having anupstanding flange 42 securely attached thereto. The flange 42 is angledinwardly towards the path of the vehicle being washed. Attached to theinner upper end of the flange 42 is a pair of tubular members 44 whichconstitute means for rotatably mounting ends of the rollers. The bracket34 shown in FIG. 6 has a tubular member 44 extending in each directionwhile the bracket 30 shown in FIG. 8 has only one tubular memberextending from the flange since it is an end section bracket. FIGS. 5and 7 illustrate brackets 32 and 36, respectively, which have onestraight tubular member and one angular tubular member since theyconnect straight sections with angular sections of the rollers.

During a washing operation, if a tire of a vehicle traveling through thepath while the vehicle is being washed, travels over a standard rail, itwill come in contact with an upper curb rail where upon the roller onthe upper curb rail will rotate inwardly and caused the wheel to moveback towards a predetermined path so that a roller on the standard curbrail will also rotate inwardly and the vehicle will be directed backtowards the center of the path. Accordingly, the guide rail system ofthe present invention provides a simple and economic means for guidingand maintaining a vehicle being washed in a predetermined path as ittravels through the path during a washing operation.

While preferred embodiments have been set forth with specific details,further embodiments, modifications and variations are contemplatedaccording to the various aspects of the present invention.

1. A dual guide rail system for a vehicle washing apparatus having apredetermined path of a vehicle to be washed comprising: a firststandard curb rail mounted adjacent an outer edge of said path at afirst height above a vehicle supporting surface; a second standard curbrail mounted adjacent an opposite outer edge of said path at said firstheight above the vehicle supporting surface; a first upper curb railmounted outside of said first standard curb rail and positioned at asecond height higher than said first height above the vehicle supportingsurface; a second upper curb rail mounted outside of said secondstandard curb rail and positioned at said second height higher than saidfirst height above the vehicle supporting surface; and wherein each ofsaid standard and upper curb rails is provided with a plurality ofrotatable rollers along its length thereof.
 2. A dual guide rail systemaccording to claim 1, wherein both said standard curb rails and saidupper curb rails are disposed at an outward angle away from said pathadjacent an entrance thereof.
 3. A dual guide rail system according toclaim 2, wherein each of said auxiliary curb rails is disposed outwardlyat a greater angle than each of said standard curb rails.
 4. A dualguide rail system according to claim 1, which includes a plurality offirst brackets for mounting said standard curb rails at said firstheight and a plurality of second brackets for mounting said upper curbrails at said second height, each of said brackets comprising: a base, aflange mounted to and upstanding from said base; and means fixed to anupper end of said flange for rotatably mounting an end of one of saidrollers.
 5. A dual guide rail system according to claim 4, wherein saidmeans comprises a tubular member.
 6. A dual guide rail system accordingto claim 4, wherein said flange is angled inwardly toward said path. 7.A dual guide rail system according to claim 1, wherein each upper curbrail is skewed inwardly with respect to a standard curb rail in adirection of travel of a vehicle being washed.